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By listening to strongest gravitational waves are produced by catastrophic events such as colliding black holes , coalescing neutron stars or white dwarf stars and the remnants of gravitational radiation created by the birth of the Universe itself , scientists can reconstruct the cataclysmic events that created them and gain information about the celestial bodies that generated those waves . Einstein ’ s equations described a universe in which space and time were dynamic . Space-time could stretch and expand , tear and collapse into black holes — objects so dense that not even light could escape them . The equations predicted , somewhat to his displeasure , that the universe was expanding from what we now call the Big Bang , and it also predicted that the motions of massive objects like black holes or other dense remnants of dead stars would ripple space-time with gravitational waves .
Right now , our telescopes can only see objects that emit electromagnetic radiation . But some objects , like colliding black holes , don ' t emit any electromagnetic radiation . Instead , they emit gravity . And that ' s why , with gravitational wave astronomy , hard-to-detect objects in the universe — like black holes and neutron stars — may soon come into clearer focus . Michaelson ’ s Interferometer Experiment for detection of luminiferous Aether was the foundation of the LIGO Project . LIGO boasts two specialized detectors in Washington and Louisiana , designed to pick up these ripples . LIGO is the world ' s largest gravitational wave observatory and a cutting-edge physics experiment . What LIGO is looking for is evidence that gravitational waves are distorting spacetime enough that one of the arms becomes temporarily longer than the other .
Prospects 1 ) Seeing farther back in time due to the special ability of LIGO and VIRGO of listening to the gravitational waves 2 ) Improving on Einstein ’ s theory of general relativity as it is inconsistent with Quantum Mechanics and determining where it fails as it consistent with black holes . 3 ) Discovering new neutron stars 4 ) Learning how common it is for black holes to orbit one another 5 ) Finding the source of dark matter and trace its origin . 6 ) Finding new , weird celestial objects such as cosmic strings ( weird wrinkles in spacetime containing a massive amount of energy )
References
· www . ligo . caltech . edu · www . spaceplace . nasa . gov · www . nobelprize . org · www . vox . com · www . newyorker . com · theatlantic . com · theverge . com